This chapter rated 'M' for death, dark themes, and violence.
Previously: Maria suddenly changes Bella after telling her about the planned revolution.
Riley's P.O.V. (2276 words):
"What is it about this place that keeps you on your feet?" ~Mighty Fine Blues by Eels
.:!*!:.
Welsh didn't take the news of the boss's promotion over him too well. When he roared and moved to attack the boss, I lunged forward without thought, and I had his arms off before he could turn around to fight back. It wasn't much of a fight though, and I had him in pieces quickly. To my astonishment, Maria pulled out a match and set his parts aflame.
"Riley, dear." Maria purred darkly. I kept my face neutral, ignoring my fear as only I could when I turned to acknowledge her. "You will follow me into camp. Carry your leader, and I will show you where her quarters shall be."
I lifted the boss into my arms and followed wordlessly. Jean came to flank me on the right, and Ares took the place on my left side. Our little group fell behind slightly as Vladimir came over the ridge and walked with Maria. They were talking quietly.
"I am going to demand I be the only one in there when she completes the change." Ares whispered almost too quietly for me to hear. "I doubt you understand what just happened as fully as those under Maria do, but I feel you should know."
"I understand that she has taken Welsh's place. Is that not all that happened?" I questioned. Once again, I didn't have a good feeling about this.
"No. That isn't all that just happened." Ares replied, his eyes dark as they darted around. "I don't know how much you know about how Maria works, but she plays with her second-in-commands. She makes them fall in love with her, and then she uses that to play them like strings. It is true that her seconds are almost always men, but she's had a couple women seconds as well. Gender means little to her and her games."
"What are you saying, Ares?" I asked, the dread building up steadily.
"She has chosen Swan. She just announced that your boss will stand at her side." He said, his voice not betraying the fear I knew he must be hiding. "Swan is going to wake up to the same world that I did."
We were silent after that. It was a lot to take in. I was shocked to find out that Maria was most likely going to demand sex from my boss. It sent shudders down my spine, and made my hair stand on end. I hugged the boss closer to me without thought. I wished I could protect her. I wished I could be the second she believed I was. I wanted to turn and run and take her as far north as I could. I wanted to get her as far away from this evil bitch as inhumanly possible.
The problem was, I couldn't. She needed to do this. She needed to to endue this hell so that we could be rid of Maria once and for all. Not only that, but I had a feeling things were getting a lot more important than that at this point, especially with one of the Romanian brothers here. A revolution was being planned, and the boss was expected to lead it. I knew that she had a respect for the Volturi though, and she was going to do all in her power to make sure that the Romanians didn't take power. Things were going to get messy, and my boss was going to have to stand in the middle of it.
The moment we got over the ridge, I knew why the boss had reacted the way she had. The camp was terrifying. The center was a huge pit dug out to look like a Colosseum. There were a good fifty humans changing in there, and there were a few older vampires standing around it, talking and keeping an eye on the humans as they writhed in pain. There was blood and venom everywhere; staining the dirt, clothes, skin, nails, hair, reflected in the eyes of those surrounding... I shook my head.
As we progressed down the ridge, my eyes wandered to the outskirts of the camp. There were five large tents placed around Maria's main grounds. They were left open, and I noticed that the older vampires were walking in and out of them. We passed one as we officially entered the camp, and I couldn't help but look back over my shoulder to peak into it as a vampire entered. I was astonished when I saw the vampire step into a hole in the ground near the back of the tent. Ares must have felt my shock, for he started whispering into my ear again as we walked around the Colosseum and to the tent on the far side of the camp.
"The holes lead to underground living spaces. If you listen carefully, you can hear the movement far beneath you. There were only two here when I left. One was for Maria, and the other was for her chosen second. With all the extra company, I'd be prepared to spend all your time outside. I highly doubt any of us are going to gain a second glance from her highness. On that note, consider yourself lucky." Ares commented dryly. The boss suddenly tensed and ground her teeth together in pain. Ares placed his hand on her forehead, and I felt a slight peaceful feeling settle over me. It must have been even stronger to her, for she relaxed significantly. I couldn't imagine how she kept from screaming, even with the Major's extra help. Ares's hand suddenly vanished from the boss's head, and Maria turned.
"Major Whitlock, meet Vladimir of Romania. Vladimir, meet the God of War." Maria introduced shortly. "The Major allied himself with my second before I claimed her."
"It is Boss Swan that I am anxious to meet. Be sure it happens." Vladimir replied, ignoring the Major completely as he stared at my boss. "I am going to go for a four day hunt in Mexico City. When I return, we will finalize the plans with your second. Be prepared, Maria."
He took off at a brisk walk without another word.
"Paul." Maria ordered, and Welsh's second stepped forward. "You go with Riley and train the armies. I want them fighting as one unit and answering to the same commands by the time Swan finishes her change. Riley, you are in charge. Train my creations the way you trained Victoria's. I want Swan comfortable with giving orders right away."
I nodded to show I understood. The Major held his arms out to take the boss from me, and I handed her to him regretfully.
"I've got her." Ares reassured, his eyes hard yet empathetic. "Go get Maria's heathens into shape. It'll make Swan's first day a whole lot easier."
"Benedicat tibi." I whispered, wishing him blessings in Latin before signaling for the armies to follow me and turning to Paul. "Let's go. As we walk, I want you to fill me in on how things used to be run around here. In turn, I'll let you know what's gonna change."
"You're a real expert at giving orders, aren't you?" Paul snarled once we were out of Maria's hearing. I had him pinned to the ground in the next moment, and I decided to take out all my pent up tension and emotion on Paul and the armies.
"You should see me in a fight. I'm even better at that." I hissed out at him, removing his left arm to make a point. I got off him and let him to his feet. Addressing the whole of Maria and Victoria's combined forces, I spoke. "Until Boss Swan awakens, I'm in charge. Does anyone else have a problem with that? No? Good. Let's get this show on the road."
I wasted no time. Paul sat off to the side reattaching his arm while I trained the forty-some newborns like a drill sergeant on steroids. I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to Paul now that Welsh had been exterminated. His newborn strength was long faded, and the second-in-command space had been taken already. He had no real use here anymore, and judging by the dark look on his face, he knew it.
.:!*!:.
Three days passed, and I got used to things at Maria's camp. The armies were now working as one, and it didn't seem strange referring to the 40 some newborns as such. The fifty newborns that had awakened yesterday were giving me more trouble though. Paul, Riseborrugh, and Nathaniel had all tried their hand at helping, but it was all we could do to keep fights from breaking out.
I had noticed Ares leave one of the tents for an hour before returning with a struggling human. One of the newborns had begun to edge forward. Ares's head had turned in his direction, and the dark look in his eyes (and whatever he put out with his gift), had the newborn backing down faster than I'd ever seen. The Major looked at me then, and he whispered one word.
"Soon."
The Boss was almost awake. I was excited, nervous, and all around anxious as hell. I remembered being a newborn only too well. I hoped that she'd be able to handle taking charge so swiftly. Not only that, but she'd be waking up to bad news. Ares was going to tell her right away what Maria's declaration and claim would mean. That idea in itself was enough to have me sweating venom, figuratively speaking, of course. Finally, I was excited because she was my leader, and I was getting her back. Plus, now she would be ready to truly take her place as a southern second-in-command. I'd be able to step back and take my rightful place on her right flank without any pretenses or worries that one of her own soldiers would lose control and drain her dry.
Maria was standing near me. She was completely silent, and expressionless, but her body was tense. It had me on edge. Before I could think on that anymore though, the Major walked out of the tent with the boss on his heals. She paused just outside the tent, and I watched as her eyes took in the camp at a completely human pace. She took a deep breath through the nose, and a slow smirk came to life on her face. I knew that smile all too well. She was ready to play the game.
"Riley." She whispered, knowing I'd hear. I was on her flank in the next two seconds. "Report."
"The original 42 are working as a single unit. The newly turned are proving far more difficult." I said, finding myself watching her. She seemed very controlled. It was almost making me uneasy. "It seems as if the majority of them have underdeveloped gifts. Since they cannot control them yet, they are acting up. We've already lost two due to Jack. His gift is fierce, boss. I don't know how he does it, but he makes vampire rip themselves apart."
"Call him forward." The Boss commanded, making my eyes widen.
"Yes, ma'am." I answered, feeling unsure. I whistled, and the newborns in the Colosseum froze. "Step up, Jack."
"Riley, sir." He acknowledged once he was standing before us.
"This is Boss Swan. She's requested you." I told him. Jack automatically straightened up and saluted her.
"You've done well, Riley." The boss praised.
"I thought so." I replied with a shrug.
"Jack, have you figured out how to use your gift on command yet?" The boss asked.
"Yes, ma'am!" He replied, staying standing straight.
"Use it on me." She said, causing my eyes to widen.
"Boss, his gift is lethal."
"I realized, Riley." She replied dryly before turning back to Jack and nodding. Jack's eyes went completely white. She flinched, and then a huge grin began to break out on her face. The boss's next word was whispered almost silently. "Fantastic."
"Boss?" I questioned, confused.
"I'll get his gift under control, and then he will rejoin the training. You will continue to be in charge until then. I trust you can handle that?" She said, still grinning at Jack.
"Of course." I replied.
"Go." She ordered, finally turning to look at me. I saluted, and she winked at me before turning back to Jack. Before I could call the newborns to attention again, Paul approached me.
"I request and audience with Boss Swan." He said, looking determined. I nodded and told him I'd make it happen as soon as I could. I figured he was going to try to take my position on her right flank. I knew, however, that wasn't going to happen. The boss needed me almost as much as I needed her.
"Riley." I heard from my left. I turned and saw the Major walking toward me. "Boss Swan told me to assist you in the newborn training."
"You want to take the ones that are still being troublesome?" I asked with a smirk. He smiled back.
"I recon that's still my strong suit." He replied, his southern drawl making a more obvious appearance. I nodded, the smile not leaving my face.
The rest of the day was uneventful. The boss had gotten "Jack the Ripper's" gift under control in just a couple hours before watching the spars that the Major, Jean, and I set up. She had them all working together before dawn, with only a little help from us. She put them into her training lines and had them all up to speed. They weren't perfect, but it was more improvement then Nathaniel and I had gotten out of them in three days. Boss Swan paced along the top of the Colosseum, giving orders and threats alike. The Major looked almost relaxed, but I had a horrible feeling that this was the calm before the storm.
A.N.: Wow! Well, things are finally heating up. I'm almost scared to show you guys the next few chapters... promise you won't leave me?